How is Brain Health Affected by Dehydration?

What is one of the most important things to do daily to keep the brain healthy?

The answer: Re-hydrate

The brain is about 85% water, and can be seriously affected by as little as a 10% loss. Every day of life your body loses water through your breath, urine and sweat glands even when you’re not trying to work up a sweat. This is why it is critical to constantly re-hydrate your body and sodas, coffee and tea don't count toward this requirement.

These drinks are typically high in caffeine, which acts as a diuretic that can dehydrate rather than rehydrate . Worse yet sodas and fruit juices along with other sweetened beverages are primary sources of high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners which will only deteriorate your health.

So the answer is to drink pure water daily .The question is how much water do you need to drink each day? For decades the guideline has been you should drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day. For some people this may be too much and not enough for others.

Your water requirement can also vary wildly from day to day depending on a number of life factors, such as your activity level and weather conditions.

Fortunately, your body is equipped with a built in mechanism that tells you when you need to replenish your water supply. It’s called thirst. There’s also a simple way to gauge whether or not you need to drink more water even though you may not be feeling thirsty.

Watch for the Signs that Your Body Needs Water

When your body loses between one to two percent of its total water content, it signals the brain and you feel thirsty. Using thirst as a guide to how much water you need to drink is a good way to ensure your individual needs are met everyday. The problem is if you quench your thirst with soda you will actually dehydrate the body.

Most studies show that about 70% of the population are dehydrated and need to drink more water. This is particularly true for the elderly and children. It is also wise to listen to the more subtle signals your body sends telling you that you need to drink more water. These signals can be:

·         Fatigue

·         Mood swings

·         Hunger even after eating

·         Lack of concentration

·         Back pain

·         Painful  joints

·         Dry skin and deeper pronounced wrinkles

·         Infrequent urination

·         Constipation

According to recent research the senior population with dementia, are six times more likely to be dehydrated. Dehydration also tends to be more common among people taking more medication.

According to BBC News

’The reasons older people do not drink enough water is because as we age we lose our sense of taste so they may not be as thirsty to re-hydrate daily. They may also decide not to drink because of continence issues or because they don't have as much social contact or forgetfulness.’"

There are better ways to re-hydrate

While drinking water can help flush out toxins if it is unfiltered water there may be more pollutants than you realize. Most tap water contains an array of harmful contaminants, including chlorine, fluoride, pesticides, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical drugs.

Most of us feel we are doing something healthy by drinking bottled water but there are many reasons to reevaluate this option. Drinking from plastic water bottles can pose serious health risks from industrial chemicals like bisphenol A(BPA/BPS)which leach from the plastic itself into the contents of the bottle. BPA and BPS are chemicals linked to learning and behavioral problems.

Bottled water also costs about 1,900 times the price of regular tap water, and may or may not have received any additional treatment. Studies have shown that 40 percent of bottled water was regular tap water with possibly no additional filtering treatment. I recommend using glass jugs to store filtered water instead of plastic for all the reasons discussed earlier.

For occasions when you want some flavor simply add some fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice to your water. As noted in a previous blog lemon water has over a dozen health benefits.

Sliced cucumbers can also add a refreshing twist. If you want a touch of sweetness, add some natural Stevia which is among the safest sugar substitutes. Another option is to simply add a drop or two of natural peppermint extract or a few crushed mint leaves. If you want an electrolyte type “sports drink,” try coconut water, which is a rich natural source of potassium and electrolytes. Look for one that has no additives.

There’s no doubt that you need pure water for optimal health. Simply swapping out all the bottled beverages you indulge in for pure water can go a long way toward improving your brain health and concentration.  The amount, however, is something you need to fine tune based on your individual diet and activities.

Reduce Holiday STRESS!

The holidays can be one of the most stressful times of the year or the most joyous. We have the choice as to what the season has in store for each of us!

Stress is more than just a state of mind. We as humans tend to create more unnecessary stressors on ourselves than any other species. Stress has real physical components, including brain overwhelm, tight muscles, headaches, difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep, abdominal pain, allergies and asthma, inflammation, and high blood pressure.

Some results of stress may have long-term consequences. Prolonged high blood pressure, for example, may lead to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Long-term inflammation may lead to weight gain, diabetes, and even kidney disease.

Of course, we could have stress because we create our own stress. We're stressed about all of the extra holiday activities, finances, time constraints, traffic etc. Now we begin worrying about all the things that could go wrong because we are under stress. Not a good plan.

A better brain plan would involve being proactive and beginning to take action steps that support our health and well-being. The action steps include the usual suspects that go by the wayside this time of year - exercise and good nutrition. Everyone knows they "should" be doing regular exercise and "should" be eating good food every day instead of all the holiday goodies. The difficulty is we rationalize that it's the holidays and we will get back on track after the New Year.

The way to reducing one's stress levels is in choosing to take proactive action ahead of time. We choose healthy behaviors because we want to, not because we think we "should". The concept of personal choice is powerful and may lead to shifts toward behaviors that are healthy.

Choosing good health habits year round improves our lives in countless ways. By choosing, we take back the power of good health. Everyone in our lives benefits by our renewed energy, creativity, productivity, and love for life.

As your health and wellness expert your well-being is most important to maintain.

As the New Year approaches and you find yourself off track, we would be glad to help.

Make sure to take advantage of our Better Brain Academy free video series in January 2015. I will be sharing cutting edge mind body strategies in a simple language to guide you through a stress less way to recreate everyday living.

References:

Appel LJ, et al: Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on blood pressure control: main results of the PREMIER clinical trial. JAMA 289(16):2083-2093, 2003

Elmer PJ, et al: Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on diet, weight, physical fitness, and blood pressure control: 18-month results of a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 144(7):485-495, 2006

Viera AJ, et al: Lifestyle modifications to lower or control high blood pressure: is advice associated with action? The behavioral risk factor surveillance survey. J Clin Hypertens 10(2):105-111, 2008

What are the Best Dietary Sources of Omega-3 Fats?

Our brain is made up of mostly Omega-3 fats and about 80% water. More and more medical research and overwhelming scientific evidence, is validating how important it is to get enough Omega-3 oils in your diet.The best sources are either from wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, and anchovies, or a high-quality Omega-3 supplement. These essential fats are absolutely crucial for your optimal mental and physical health.

While a helpful form of Omega-3 can be found in flaxseed, chia, hemp, and a few other foods, the most beneficial form of Omega-3 contain two fatty acids, DHA and EPA. Both are essential in fighting and preventing both physical and mental disease. They’re primarily found in animal-based seafood like fish and krill.

Because almost all seafood can become contaminated with environmental pollutants like PCBs and mercury, you have to be careful about the types of seafood you consume when trying to increase your Omega-3 fats. The best strategy to remember is the closer to the bottom of the food chain the fish is, the less contamination it will have accumulated. Sardines, in particular, are one of the more concentrated sources of omega-3 fats, with one serving containing more than 50 percent of your recommended daily value.

There is a lower risk of authentic wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon accumulating high amounts of mercury and other toxins because of its short life cycle(only about three years).It is my opinion that even If you eat a lot of fish, you should still supplement high grade Omega-3 Oils.

It is less widely known that you can also get your Omega-3’s from krill oil, and it may, in fact, be preferable to do so. In laboratory tests, krill oil remained undamaged after being exposed to a steady flow of oxygen for 190 hours. Compare that to fish oil, which went rancid after just one hour. That makes krill oil nearly 200 times more resistant to oxidative damage compared to fish oil! When purchasing krill oil, you'll want to read the label and check the amount of astaxanthin it contains. The more the better, but anything above 0.2 mg per gram of krill oil will protect it from rancidity.

I believe that Omega-3 oil supplementation is one of the 4 main pillars required in our daily diet for proper health and brain function. The other three pillars are a high quality Multi vitamin, probiotics for proper gut health and vitamin D3. You should always check with your doctor before starting a supplementation plan for proper dosage and any possible drug contraindications.

Fats DO NOT Equal FAT! Are Fats Needed for Healthy Brain Function?

Food processing with hydrogenated oils (trans fats) and high fructose corn syrup, along with excessive ingestion of sugars has dramatically affected the increase in diet related illness .Our ancestral diet was very high in saturated fats and virtually void of sugar and non-vegetable carbohydrates. Today, not only do most of us eat excessive amounts of carbohydrates, these carbs are refined and highly processed.

Twenty years ago the trend was to eat a low fat / high carbohydrate diet to reduce cardiovascular disease and strokes. In the last decade, we've also shifted over to genetically engineered (GE) grains and sugar (GE sugar beets and corn), the long-term health effects of which have never been established. These two trends have increased the inflammation process in the body which can lead to plaque build up in the cardiovascular system.

This mistaken fat phobia has undoubtedly played a significant role in the dramatic rise in dementia and other neurological disorders, because your brain cannot function properly without fats. In fact, most people benefit from up to 50-75 % of their daily calories in the form of non processed fats for optimal health while they are seeking to resolve their insulin resistance.

For comparison, the American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to between 5-6% percent of total calories! There's no doubt in my mind that the lowered recommendation of good fat level is contributing to the poor health and the increase in dementia.

While trans fat consumption has decreased by about one-third since 1990 many are still getting far too much trans fat in their diet. The problem is that it's oftentimes hidden. Even products boasting a "zero trans fat" label can contain trans fat, because food manufacturers are not required to list trans fat if it falls below a certain amount per serving.

Using ridiculously tiny serving portion is a legal loophole that permits food manufacturers to mislead you about the trans fat in their products. As a general rule, to avoid trans fats, you need to avoid any and all foods containing or cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, so be sure to check the list of ingredients.

I also believe that that use of satin drugs to lower cholesterol (a substance made by the body) is leading to decreased brain function. Cholesterol is absolutely necessary for hormone production and the plaque build up in arteries is a protective mechanism from inflammation in the body. Since hydrogenated oils and sugars contribute to this inflammatory process it seems like a better choice to restrict these foods rather than take a potentially harmful medication.

Research shows that we need to add more good fats from fish, grass feed beef, free range chickens along with seeds and nuts to reduce inflammation. If we eat more like our ancestors and reduce processed foods many of today's lifestyle related illness would create a course correction and allow healing instead of inflammatory processes.

Listed below are sources of healthier fats to add to your diet :

• Avocados or avocado oil
• Non farmed salmon or supplementation of omega 3 oils              
• Clarified Butter (Ghee)made from raw grass-fed organic milk.       
• Organic pastured eggs including yolks
• Coconuts and coconut oil      
• Unheated organic nut oils      
• Raw nuts, such as almonds, pecans, macadamia, and seeds